The Friday Five: October 21, 2011
Friday Five : ‘frī-(,)dā,-dē ‘fīv : On the sixth day of every week, I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes, then share the first five tracks and thought for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, occasionally we’ll have a guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
“Beyond the Invisible” by Enigma (from Le Roi est Mort, Vive le Roi!, 1996)
Much like the Gregorian Chant fad their first record inspired, I now look back at this and think, “what the hell were we all thinking?”
“Roy Rogers” by Elton John (from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, 1973)
Not my favorite Elton tune, but I can dig it.
“True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper (from Now That’s What I Call the 80’s, Volume 2, 2009)
Like nails on a chalk board. Don’t get me wrong, I love Cyndi Lauper, but this song just grates on my nerves.
“Normal Like You” by Everclear (from So Much for the Afterglow, 1997)
iTunes clearly doesn’t like me very much this morning.
“Play Thang” by Jodeci (from Forever My Lady, 1991)
I was hoping for some redemption, but clearly I just need to put this week’s Friday Five to bed and go back to listening to the brilliant new Julian Velard record.
What’s on your shuffle today?
15 Comments
Phil
The Police – “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” (Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings, 1993)
iTunes shuffle is a strange thing. I have nearly 8400 songs in my music library, and it picks a song from an album covered in last week’s Friday Five. Nonetheless, this is one of my favorite Police tunes, and despite its being played out on classic rock radio, it’s a song that doesn’t have me reaching for the skip button.
Caedmon’s Call – “Center Aisle” (Caedmon’s Call, 1997)
This is not the first time CCM folk outfit Caedmon’s Call has shown up in my Friday Fives. This time it’s a track from their major label debut (they had released a couple of independent albums prior to this) penned by fellow Memphibian (turned Nashvillian by way of Houston) Derek Webb. He wrote the song on the way home from the funeral of a friend who had committed suicide at which he’d been asked to play. It’s a song questioning what troubles in her life were so overwhelming that could not have been worked out in that quiet room surrounded by the people who loved her. Beautiful and pleading, the song consists simply of Derek’s vocals and an acoustic guitar, a combination that always draws me in.
Tesla – “Love Me” (Mechanical Resonance, 1986)
Mechanical Resonance is one of those albums that I purchased at a mall record store as a teenager without ever having heard a single note. This is not one of the better songs on the band’s debut, but it’s not bad, and I do love the wah-wah saturated guitar solo.
The Damnwells – “Golden Days” (acoustic version from the Golden Days film trailer)
I have a sort of love/hate relationship with this band-turned-musical-collective. Frontman Alex Dezen’s songwriting can at times be equal parts pure genius and totally frustrating. Fortunately this is one of this better tunes.
Judas Priest – “Freewheel Burning” (Defenders of the Faith, 1984)
“Fast and furious” proclaims the screaming, squealing, and screeching Rob Halford in this song’s opening strains. That it is, as is much of what sadly would become probably the last truly great album by the mighty Priest. Excuse me, I have some headbanging and horns-throwing to do. Later.
Chris Holmes
No love for Painkiller?
Michael Parr
I’m going to have to second the Painkiller vote.
Phil
I have to admit to not having listened to Painkiller too much. Not that there’s anything wrong with it. Scott Travis’ drumming definitely rejuvenated the band, and the playing and singing has an edge and ferociousness that Priest had not had in quite awhile. But this just wasn’t my Judas Priest anymore, if that makes any sense. I guess I need to crack it open and give it another listen today, though.
dslifton
“Give The Girl A Kiss” – Bruce Springsteen. One of those great soul party songs from the Darkness sessions that didn’t get released until Tracks.
“Radio Song” – R.E.M. (4/10/91). From their MTV Unplugged appearance.
“My Hometown” – Bruce Springsteen (Asbury Park, 9-24-07). From one of the rehearsal shows before the start of the Magic tour. He doesn’t perform this one too often anymore, but it makes sense that he would do it in Asbury Park.
“American Slang” – Brian Fallon (Live on KEXP). Solo version of the title song of the last Gaslight Anthem album and one of Fallon’s best songs.
“New Way Of Lovin'” – Willie Dixon. Some classic Chicago blues, which makes sense for now because I’m currently three miles up Michigan Avenue from the site of Chess Records.
Anonymous
“Let Me Fall In Love” by Marketa Irglova from Anar (2011). This is a track from Marketa’s just-released debut solo album. I haven’t listened to it yet, but based on this song, I think I’m going to really enjoy it.
“Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Chris Isaak from Beyond the Sun (2011). My comment upon first listen of this album is that I believe it might have gotten me pregnant.
“Battle of the Century, Pt 1 (vs. Johnny Polygon)” by T.J. Miller from The Extended Play EP (2011). This is one of my favorite comedy albums of the year. It’s a comedy/rap album like only T.J. Miller could do it. You should buy it immediately.
“Time” by Tori Amos from Strange Little Girls (2001). I think this is the most underrated album of Tori’s career. I hadn’t listened to it in a few years, so decided to put in on the MP3 player for nostalgia’s sake after listening to Tori’s latest, which disappointed me. I always associate her cover of this Tom Waits song with the immediate aftermath of 9/11, particularly b/c of her emotional performance of it on Letterman a week after the attacks.
“You Did It All Before” by Milla Jovovich from The Divine Comedy (1994). Yeah, I own Milla Jovovich’s album. And I like it. Go ahead and judge…I don’t care.
EightE1
Chapterhouse, “Mesmerise.” Like the bottom end on this. Nice contrast to the snoozy, twee vocals.
Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Little Miss Lover.” Live take from the BBC Sessions disc. Unbridled sexuality here, people, both vocally and instrumentally. It’s a wonder they let him do this on the government-controlled airwaves in Britain.
Anthrax, “The Devil You Know.” God that new record is so good.
Weezer, “Turning Up the Radio.” I dig songs about listening to the radio; they’re often nostalgiac and fun. This one rocks, too.
Survivor, “Poor Man’s Son.” Used to drive my brother nuts blasting this. Excellent Bickler-era tune; their first Top 40 hit, if I’m not mistaken.
Phil
> Anthrax, “The Devil You Know.” God that new record is so good.
I’ll second that. It has completely restored my faith in Anthrax after all the drama in the lead singer slot over the last few years.
Chris Holmes
Meh, I found it to be decent at best. It’s great having Joey back, but listening to it around the same time as the new Mastodon makes it clear which band is the more vital at this point.
Phil
Oh, don’t get me wrong. I realize these guys aren’t breaking any new ground with Worship Music. I mean, how could they given that it is a compilation of songs that have been hanging around for what, 5 or 6 years now? But the great thing about it is that it doesn’t completely suck, which is what I was expecting. There are a few really good tracks, and the rest are good enough that I don’t want to hit the stop button. So now I have more faith that they will be able to build on the foundation of this record and do something really great next go-round. Then again, maybe they will can Joey again, get a new singer, and start the soap opera all over. This is Anthrax after all.
I’m digging the new Mastodon, too, by the way. Completely different from the last few albums, but that’s what I like about these guys. You never really know what to expect.
And how sad is it that my measure of a “good” album has become “it doesn’t suck”?!
Chris Holmes
I checked out on Anthrax after *Sound of White Noise*. John Bush does absolutely nothing for me as a vocalist. So my last real reference point for the band is *Persistence of Time*, which is an all-time classic. Any new Joey album was going to be compared to that, and it’s not even close.
Phil
Although a couple of songs come close. Well, at least as close as they could come to recapturing that magic 20 years later without directly plagiarizing, which they come dangerously close to as well. Those 4 albums with Joey are classics, and there’s no way they will ever top them.
I also checked out around Sound of White Noise, not so much due to John Bush, who I actually like as a vocalist, especially in Armored Saint, but moreso for the change in direction. I never could get fully into any of the Bush-era albums, so I’m glad I checked back in for We’ve Come For You All. I really like this album, although much like the Judas Priest discussion, this is not my Anthrax. It’s a different Anthrax, but still a version that I can appreciate.
All that being said, I just don’t get Caggiano. I didn’t like his guitar tones on WCFYA, I don’t like his interpretations of Dan Spitz’s solos, and he’s just no fun to watch on stage. I’d love to see Dan come back, but I don’t think that will ever happen again.
Chris Holmes
Ace Frehley, “Detroit Rock City” (1994 bootleg) – There were a lot of reports around the time of the original Kiss reunion that Ace had to be re-taught his old guitar parts by Tommy Thayer. I’ve listened to enough Ace bootlegs from the pre-reunion period to believe this was yet more bullshit floated by Gene Simmons.
De La Soul, “Pony Ride (feat. Truth Enola)” (from Stakes Is High) – I would like De La Soul’s early albums a lot more without all the goofy skits. They’re like the inverse of old In Loving Color episodes.
Queensrÿche, “The Lady Wore Black / Nightrider / Blinded” (1987 bootleg) – Man, that new Queensrÿche album is still so depressing to contemplate. I can’t think of another band I love/loved so much that manages to frustrate me so often.
Neil Finn, “Loose Tongue” (from Try Whistling This) – I never really got into Crowded House, but do love this album. In fact I think it’s come up before on Friday Five.
Les McCann, “The Great City” (from Talkin’ Verve!!!) – So smooth, so swingin’, so easygoing. Yup, perfect Friday music.
Anonymous
1) Shawn Colvin — “The Facts About Jimmy” (A Few Small Repairs, 1996). “The simple truth is always the best,” sings Colvin on a track with some of her most incisive lyrics in a portrait of a down slope of a marriage. Not a wasted lyric at all here. Nuanced storytelling at its finest.
2) Joshua Redman — “Through The Valley” (Compass, 2009). With relatively sparse accompaniment, Redman offer melancholy sax musings that somehow fill the void. Suggests a man alone with his thoughts trying to figure out where things went wrong.
3) Luther Allison — “Cherry Red Wine” (Live In Chiacgo). This comes from a very fine double-album, which was recorded in 1995-1997 and released in 1999. (Thank you Alligator Records.) The late blues guitarist serves up impassioned vocals that alternate between edgy confrontation and pleading in trying to bring a lover back from a descent into alcoholism. The searing, incendiary fretwork from Allison demonstrates a musician at the peak of his powers.
4) Lucinda Williams — “Drunken Angel” (Car Wheels On a Gravel Road, 1998). I never would of thought of this amazing transition from the last song. Country flavored track with Williams investing a wistful regret in her vocals about a loved one whose considerable gifts to share with others are undone by his bouts with alcohol.
5) Prince & The Revolution — “America” (Around The World In A Day, 1985). Sardonic twist on an anthem and commentary on the underbelly of Reagan’s America.
Irishjava
While flying to Chicago en route to Notre Dame for the game this weekend, I queued up my 1984-1988 playlist. Climbing to flight level three two zero, here’s what the iPod cranked out for my nostalgic Friday Five:
1. “A Kind of Magic” by Queen from A Kind of Magic Sophomore year
2. “It’s All Mine” by World Party from Private Revolution. Sophomore year
3. “Not Alone Anymore” by the Traveling Wilburys. After graduation
4. “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel from So. Junior year.
5. “Rumbleseat” by John Mellencamp from Scarecrow Sophomore year. Well, I did go to school in Indiana
Somewhat surprised nothing from R.E.M, U2 or Springsteen made the cut this period, but not surprised its dominated by music from ’86 – one of my favorite musical years.
Hope you hear something great this weekend!
Go Irish!